Contamination is a serious problem in captured water systems and recirculated water systems. These terms refer to generally discrete bodies of water which are either stagnant for a prolonged period of time or circulated within a closed loop. Examples are cooling towers, fountains, ponds, swimming pools, and other decorative, recreational, or industrial water systems. Water is continuously lost in many of these systems due to evaporation, leakage or other escape, and the make-up water tends to increase the contaminant level since the contaminants frequently form solid deposits and do not vaporize. Deposits associated with water hardness can be lessened by using soft water, but this limits the sources of supply and increases cost by requiring additional chemicals and/or water softening equipment.
According to one aspect of the present invention, therefore, dissolved solids are removed from captured and recirculated water systems on a continuous basis by chemical filtration, with continuous removal of the contaminants as they are concentrated by the filtration.
Biological contaminants such as bacteria and other microbiological growth are controllable by a variety of known techniques. In most cases, however, these techniques are not compatible with techniques involving the removal of dissolved solids, since they involve the use of chemicals or treatments which are destructive of small pore chemical filtration means. According to another aspect of the invention, therefore, an overall system is provided which includes both biological decontamination and dissolved solids removal together with a unit for protecting the latter from agents used in the former. The longevity and continued effectiveness of the system is therefore established.
Other objects, advantages, features and aspects of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows.